Live blog Wednesday: City in court to explain NOPD’s use of dashboard and officer-worn cameras

The federal judge overseeing reforms of the New Orleans Police Department will hold a hearing Wednesday about the department’s use of body-worn and vehicle cameras and whether officers are complying with policies on their use.

The hearing, which will occur in open court, starts Wednesday at 9 a.m. The Lens will live-blog it here.

Public court hearings in the case have become rare since U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan ordered the implementation of a consent decree in 2013. The consent decree is meant to deal with police brutality, discrimination and corruption.

This hearing was spurred by a recent report by the consent decree monitoring team that said vehicle cameras mandated in the consent decree often did not work or were not turned on, including when officers were using force.

“The Court believes a hearing on camera usage is warranted,” Morgan wrote in an order setting the hearing date.

While the monitoring team is in New Orleans, it will hold two public meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Live blog, 9 a.m. Wednesday

Charles Maldonado is the editor of The Lens. He previously worked as The Lens' government accountability reporter, covering local politics and criminal justice. Prior to joining The Lens, he worked for Gambit, New Orleans’ alternative newsweekly, where he covered city hall, criminal justice and public health. Before moving to New Orleans, he covered state and local government for weekly papers in Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn.